Describes a study of wait-time (the pause for thinking after questions and answers) for first-year high-school Spanish and French students in both their native and target languages. The average duration of wait-time was 1.91 seconds after questions and .73 seconds after responses. Wait-time was longer after questions in the native language. (SED)

A survey of undergraduate students studying foreign languages was conducted, examining selected learning behaviors culled from recent literature on good language learners. Results indicate that there is some evidence for a link between certain behaviors and student achievement. However, links between learning behavior and achievement seem…

Describes a study in which the self-reported language learning behaviors of nonnative English-speaking graduate students were described and then related to the students' gains in language proficiency during the course. Findings indicate that there are two different kinds of learning behaviors that can be accounted for by Krashen's…

The two-way migration phenomenon of Puerto Ricans is examined, focusing on how Puerto Rican schools deal with children returning from the mainland with varying degrees of English and having become acculturated to some mainland behaviors. (BS)

A within-subject design involving three Spanish speaking and three English speaking preschoolers with language handicaps provided support for the practice of initial language intervention in the native language when bilingualism is a goal and for transference/facilitation theories of second language learning. (CL)

A Spanish immersion program involving 11 first graders and 16 second graders is described; and the testing, progress, parent attitudes, and changes made in the program's first two years are discussed. Students' grade-equivalent scores in reading, mathematics, and language are compared with those of one other school and the district. (MSE)

Spanish/English bilingual and monolingual English-speaking children, ages 36 to 50 months, were recorded during interactions with their mothers. Analyses were made of recorded language (using selected morphological and syntactic features) and home language of bilingual children. It is concluded that results provide insight into bilingual…

Examines an integrative approach for teaching communicative competence among first-year students learning a second language (Spanish). Results of the study indicate that those students who participated in regularly scheduled individual interviews with the instructors improved their oral communication skills considerably more than those who did…

Discusses the relevance of teaching "Survival Spanish" at the community college level for those students whose careers will require an understanding of the language. In addition, many professionals in the human/community service or medical fields are enrolling in such courses, in order to more competently serve the changing needs of…

Acculturation will work in the same way for legal and illegal immigrants as it has for other ethnic groups in the past, given comparable levels of education and length of family residence in this country. The long-term impact of illegal migration will be insignificant provided it is reduced substantially in the future. (RDN)

A program is described in which Spanish-speaking senior citizens volunteered to meet with first- and second-year language students twice weekly on a one-to-one basis for unstructured conversation. Both students and staff benefited, and results show the practical value of integrating such a conversation lab into the regular foreign language…

Describes the programs and modifications needed to do word processing using foreign language characters. One such program, Screenwriter, uses soft character sets -- character sets which can be designed by the program user. This program has a word processing power combined with a foreign language capability that would allow any person to work with…

Notes that the integration of Americans of Spanish origin into the political and economic structure of the United States has been a continuing struggle. (Author)

The making of a minute, color videocassette tape on winemaking is described. The tape is bilingual with Spanish and English on separate audio tracks and is accompanied by a complete script. Pedagogical and production considerations in the making of the tape are discussed. (RM)

Second of two volumes providing information on Spanish-language learning materials, including the programs' intents, contents, methodology, means of evaluation, over-all assessment, and recommendations. A related volume is EA 507 430. (MLF)